Black Pepper Pests

Pests of Major Significance

Insect Pests

• Pollu beetle: Lanka ramakrishnae (Longitarsus nigripennis) Mots. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
• Top shoot borer: Cydia hemidoxa Meyr. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)
• Leaf gall thrips: Liothrips karnyi Bagnall (Thysanoptera: Phaleothripidae)
• Mussel scale insects: Lepidosaphes piperis Gr.; Aspidiotus destructor Sign. (Hemiptera: Diaspididae)

Diseases

• Foot rot /quick wilt disease: Phytophthora capsici Leonian
• Pollu disease /Anthracnose: Colletotrichum gloeosporioides Penz. and Sacc.
• Slow decline /slow wilt: (Phytophthora capsici-fungi; Meloidogyne incognita & Radopholus similis - nematodes)

Weeds

Broadleaf

• Pigweed: Amaranthus viridis Hook. F. (Amaranthaceae)
• Common purselane: Portulaca oleracea L. (Portualacaceae)
• False amaranth: Digera arvensis Forssk. (Amaranthaceae)
• Carrot grass: Parthenium hysterophorusL. (Asteraceae)
• Goat weed: Ageratum conyzoides L. (Asteraceae)
• Little mallow, (cheese weed): Malva parviflora F. (Malvaceae)

Grasses

• Barnyard grass: Echinochloa crusgalli (L.) Beauv. (Poaceae)
• Bermuda grass: Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. (Poaceae)

Sedges

• Purple nutsedge: Cyperus rotundus L. (Cyperaceae).
• Flat sedge: Cyperus iria L. (Cyperaceae)

Parasitic

• Dodder: Cuscuta spp. (Convolvulaceae)

Nematodes

• Root-knot nematode: Meloidogyne incognita Kofoid & White (Tylenchida: Heteroderidae)
• Burrowing nematode: Radopholus similis Cobb (Tylenchida: Pratylenchidae)

Pest of Minor Significance

Insect pests

• Leaf feeding caterpillar: Synegia sp. (Lepidoptera: Geometridae)
• Mealybugs: Planococcus sp. / Pseudococcus sp. (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae )
• Soft scale: Marsipococcus marsupiale Gr. (Hemiptera: Coccidae)

Diseases

• Basal wilt in nurseries: Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc.
• Leaf rot and leaf blight: Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn
• Stunt disease: Cucumber Mosaic Virus and Pepper Yellow Mottle Virus
• Phyllody disease: Phytoplasma like organism

IPM for Black Pepper

To know the IPM practices for Black Pepper, click here.

Source: NIPHM and Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage